Me & The Boys on the Yanks. Every Single Day.

Scheduled

I get the biggest kick out of Vin Scully.Not him, necessarily, but the fact that the guy has been calling baseball games for 61 years.I’m watching the Dodgers/Pirates on mlb.tv as I’m tapping the keys, and there’s Vin Scully telling me all about it… It’s nuts.Over the winter it was a big deal when they found the tape of the Don Larsen perfect game on the MLB channel.They broadcast it in its entirety (for whatever reason it started in the third inning I think), and there was Vin Scully telling me all about it.And he pretty much sounds the exact same.“Robinson leads off first, dancing around trying to draw a throw…Fly ball to center, Mantle camps under it, and that’s the third out of the inning….“And here I am, 54 years later, and the same exact voice is saying, “Here we are in the bottom of the fourth inning, and it’ll be Garrett Anderson, Matt Kemp, and Andre Ethier…” Yup.That’s 54 years later.Awesome…

So because I got such a visceral reaction on the last post, and the comments came flooding in about the scheduling conspiracy, I’ll state my case another way.Then I promise I won’t talk about it for a while… (Yes I’m being sarcastic, but I figured since I got just one comment – Mannino! – I would invent a reaction.Yeah, I know, no posts, no comments…I’ll give you that).So I think we can all agree that the “expected wins” stat is pretty ubiquitous these days, right?Well the same math that allows you to do the expected wins calculations lets you do it on a team-by-team basis. Meaning you can look at the Pirates expected wins calculations (probably third grade math), and the further break it down to Pirates expected wins against the Phillies (second grade math), and the Pirates expected wins against the Phillies on the road (first grade math).I’m sure Major League Baseball can also pretty easily assign a dollar amount to any given contest; gate, TV revenue, concessions, souvenirs, etc.So if I’m Major League Baseball, with some pretty simple mathematical modeling I can model out what combination of games will get me the most revenue, and which schedule configuration will get me closest to a dead heat in the standings as late as possible in the season.If you were Bud Selig, wouldn’t you do this?It’s easy enough to do.You would have to do it.

So another beneficiary of this has been the Mets.Man is MLB psyched.Even though they scheduled 15 of the first 21 Met games at home, and 15 of the first 21 Phillies games on the road, including a West Coast trip, MLB could not have imagined the Phillies would be in second place behind the Mets going into their first match-up in Philly.The excitement is back in the big market!

So how did the Yankees fare on their monster road trip?Fine.If there was one hiccup, I wouldn’t say it was losing the only series of the year thus far in Anaheim, that’s very difficult to avoid.I would say it was the first game in Baltimore.That was just stupid.The Orioles putting every run across with two outs, and getting what would be the game winner on an error, a lazy throw on a steal attempt, another error, and a seeing-eye base hit.All with two outs.Sloppy.And that being the run that prevented the furious ninth inning comeback from tying the game.Annoying. So that’s the one that got away.But that stuff happens.

Aside from Vazquez, the pitching is pretty tight.Vazquez is a duck.On the offensive side, Jeter has one more less homer (3) than A-Rod and Tex combined (4).Have to figure there’s a ton of upside there.Just nobody get hurt please.Please…

The Rays look mean, although their schedule has been somewhat soft.They’ve only played the Red Sox and the Yankees to speak of.They are 9-1 on the road, though.Doesn’t look like they’re going away.

Quick homestand coming up.No games for me.Was at Opening Day.The Big Boy, Tony Sherry, me, and Acc’s baby brother.Was also at Citi Field on Tuesday Night.Freezing.Crowd was humming though.And Shake Shack is the gold standard by which all other Stadium food should be measured…

Till next time…

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He’s baaaaaack! I must say, this season is a welcome change from season’s past where the Yankees are at the bottom for the first few months. I’ll take their performance on the monster road trip as a good sign of things to come.

OK, here goes. Let’s look at the Yanks: outfield: a big mess. Cash should have re-signed Damon. It was a farce, and I cannot believe it was over $$$$ unless Cash can’t deal with Hal. In any case, that non-move along with dealing Melky, left a huge hole. Thames can hit, but should NEVER play in the field. I think I could play outfield better than him. So Cash gets Winn. Winn has speed, but ya can’t steal firstbase, so what earthly good is he? (other than pinch running). CF: Grandy. Good player, but Cash gave up too much in Coke, Kennedy and Jackson. We were OK with Grandy and Gardner, but now look at it, after Grandy gets hurt – you’re relying on 2 players that at best are bench players. Oh, and add to the fact that Swish is hurt. We have a fair, at best, outfield. Signing Damon for 8 mil and NOT dealing Melky for a guy (Vasquez) who was great in the NL – Cash, do you ever look at the league you’re getting a pitcher from ? Especially a guy who served up that upper deck meatball in ’04 to JD? Stupid move. I just knew that these moves by Cash would backfire. The Rays are for real, and just proved it. We’re in trouble, guys…
Now to the rotation. CC and AJ, fine. Andy, great start, but guess what ? Lefty’s arm isn’t right. Too many miles on a guy who was taking IV’s on the trainer’s table in the WS. Should never had counted on Andy for a 3rd starter. Hughes doesn’t surprise me. A future ace. So CC, AJ and Hughes, with a ??? Andy P. Good starting 3 1/2. The Rays have 5 solid arms. They beat us. Now to the pen: Coke and Bruney (to some extent) were a big part of the pen last year. But they’re gone (thanks Cash), and Aceves has a bad back – just great for a pitcher. Marte’s OK, Park, in my mind, is a ? and Robertson is a mess (but has shown signs of improvement. The biggest problem is the lack of Hughes, but he has to start, because Vasquez can’t pitch in NY (please prove me wrong Javy !)
Joba’s OK, by can he be the ’07 Joba ALL season ? It seems he’s good for a week or so, then loses the zip on his pitches….still hurt, Joba ? Remember this is a guy with some prior minor league arm problems. Mo is Mo. The best. Boy was he pissed when the ball flew over Winn’s head the other night. Who the hell told him to practically play behind A-Rod’s back. What an joke.
Marky better start hitting, and soon. The thing is, the order is weaker this year – maybe too much pressure on him? Gotta love his glove though….
Cano – doesn’t surprise me. A future MVP, if not this year, maybe next.
Ali : what can I say. He’s a new player since last year. Finally. He finally earned his stripes.
Catchers : Gazo (Cervelli) is awesome. Love the fire he has. Better yet, the next *** that decks him in the batter’s box, well he should charge the mound, and hopefully his team will follow suit – face it, the guy has a special helmet because he’s beem beaned so much. I know I’d go after the next guy who decks him – don’t care how big he is…
Hip-Hip Jorge – a great stick, but seems to be injury-prone. Unreal that he broke his foot.
Hope the Yanks get a special rate for MRI’s. Can’t believe how snake-bit they are. Must be Red Sox fams putting needles in a Yankee doll😦
Well, I fell better now after venting.
Anybody else out there ????

Good player, but Cash gave up too much in Coke Shoutbox
, Kennedy and Jackson. We were OK with Grandy and Gardner, but now look at it, after Grandy gets hurt – you’re relying on 2 players that at best are bench players.

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